Han's serve is good…Korean Air's crushing defeat is very unfamiliar
Dec 25, 2024
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Korean Air coach Tommy Tilikainen admitted his crushing defeat. Korean Air was completely defeated by a set score of 0-3 (16025, 19-25, 21-25) in the third round match against Hyundai Capital in the men's division of the Dodram 2024-2025 V-League at Cheonan Yoo Gwan-soon Gymnasium on the 25th. The second-ranked Korean Air (35 points) fell behind by 8 points as it failed to stop the first-ranked Hyundai Capital (43 points) from winning eight consecutive games.
It was such a disastrous game that not a single striker scored double-digit points. Not only was he completely defeated by Hyundai Capital 3-12 in the blocking match, but he was also dragged around by Hyundai Capital throughout the game without any proper serve and reception. Foreign main gun Maxim Zigalov scored five points and had a 20% attack success rate amid the overall crisis.
It is a shocking result because it is Korean Air. Korean Air made its first V-League history by winning the integrated championship for four consecutive years from the 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024 seasons. Korean Air, which has already established a dynasty, is aiming to set a new unified championship record once again for the fifth consecutive year this season, but Hyundai Capital is struggling. Korean Air lost all three of its first to third rounds against Hyundai Capital this season, losing its pride.
Coach Tilikainen said after the game, `We didn't have Christmas gifts. The opposing team was really much better than us. In many ways, we didn't play. The opposing team did well, and congratulations on the victory. What we need to be better at is that we will rearrange it," he said calmly.
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Coach Tilikainen said, `It was a mixture of serve, attack, reception and blocking. It's not about pointing fingers at anyone. (At the beginning of the third set) I think only one player's serve went well."
Korean Air was able to lead 6-0 at the beginning of the third set thanks to a player shaking Hyundai Capital's receiving with a serve, but missed the first difficult win of the day as Hyundai Capital Huh Soo-bong's serve collapsed helplessly after Han's serve error.
In order for Korean Air to achieve its dream of winning the integrated championship for five consecutive years, it must beat Hyundai Capital in the remaining four to six rounds.
Coach Tilikainen said, `I think we should take small changes. We also have to think about defending the striker well, and today (25th) the opposing strikers seem to have executed well. We didn't do that. I think we need to think about how to make good use of the Joker for the rest of the season and get points."
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rina1130@sportschosun.com
